French Open: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are among the men to watch in 2024
FILE - Serbia's Novak Djokovic kisses the trophy as he celebrates winning the men's singles final match of the French Open tennis tournament against Norway's Casper Ruud at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, June 11, 2023. Djokovic won three of his men’s-record 24 Grand Slam titles at the French Open, which starts Sunday at Roland Garros in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
PARIS (AP) — Here are some of the men to watch at the French Open, which starts at Roland Garros on Sunday:
FILE - Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, hits a return to Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during a semifinal match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Friday, March 29, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Medvedev won the 2021 U.S. Open and has been the runner-up five times at Grand Slam tournaments entering the 2024 French Open, which starts Sunday at Roland Garros in Paris.(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Novak Djokovic
Seeding: 1
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Serbia
Age: 37
2024 Record: 12-5 (Entering Geneva)
FILE - Jannik Sinner, of Italy, holds the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup aloft after defeating Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. Sinner won his first Grand Slam title in January at the Australian Open and is one of the top men entered in the French Open, which starts Sunday at Roland Garros in Paris.(AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
2024 Titles: Zero
Career Titles: 98
Grand Slam Titles: 24 — French Open (3: 2016, 2021, 2023), Australian Open (10: 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023), Wimbledon (7: 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022), U.S. Open (4: 2011, 2015, 2018, 2023)
Last 5 French Opens: 2023-Won Championship, 2022-Lost in Quarterfinals, 2021-Won Championship, 2020-Runner-Up, 2019-Lost in Semifinals
The Bracket: Could face No. 30 Lorenzo Musetti — who took a two-set lead against Djokovic in the fourth round in 2021 before Djokovic went on to the title — in the third round.
Aces: Hasn't won a title this season and went to the Geneva Open the week before the French Open for some extra preparation. ... Was hit in the head by a fan's water bottle in Rome and went to get checked by doctors. ... Holds the men's record for the most Grand Slam singles titles and has spent the most weeks at No. 1 in the half-century of computerized singles rankings. ... Has played sparingly in 2024, sitting out Masters 1000 events in Miami and Madrid. ... Dropped coach Goran Ivanisevic in March and has not announced a replacement.
FILE - Norway's Casper Ruud holds the runner-up trophy after losing the men's singles final match of the French Open tennis tournament against Serbia's Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, June 11, 2023. Ruud is a two-time runner-up at the French Open, which starts Sunday at Roland Garros in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
He Said It: “Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Olympic Games — that's the block for which we are preparing the most.”
Read All About It: Djokovic leaves the GOAT debate to others
Jannik Sinner
Seeding: 2
Career-Best Ranking: 2
Country: Italy
FILE - Carlos Alcaraz of Spain plays a backhand return to Richard Gasquet of France during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Alcaraz owns two Grand Slam titles entering the 2024 French Open, which starts Sunday at Roland Garros in Paris. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
Age: 22
2024 Record: 28-2
2024 Titles: 3
Career Titles: 13
Grand Slam Titles: 1 — Australian Open (2024)
Last 5 French Opens: 2023-2nd, 2022-4th, 2021-4th, 2020-QF, 2019-Did Not Play
The Bracket: Faces big-serving American Chris Eubanks in the first round.
Aces: Coming off a hip injury that forced him to withdraw before a match at Madrid Open and skip the Italian Open entirely. ... Won his first major championship at the Australian Open in January, eliminating Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and then coming back after losing the opening two sets of the final to defeat Daniil Medvedev in five. ... First Italian man to win a Grand Slam singles title since Adriano Panatta at the 1976 French Open. ... Led Italy to the Davis Cup title in November.
He Said It: "Look, I haven’t changed because of the success. I don’t believe in these kind of things, because the way you are as a human being is much more important than all the rest."
Read All About It: Sinner does things his way
Carlos Alcaraz
Seeding: 3
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Spain
Age: 21
2024 Record: 18-5
2024 Titles: 1
Career Titles: 13
Grand Slam Titles: 2 — U.S. Open (2022), Wimbledon (2023)
Last 5 French Open: 2023-SF, 2022-QF, 2021-3rd, 2020-DNP, 2019-DNP
The Bracket: Could face No. 6 Andrey Rublev or No. 9 Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2021 runner-up, in the quarterfinals.
Aces: Pulled out of three key clay-court tournaments ahead of the French Open — in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome — because of a lingering issue with his right forearm, leaving his status for Paris in doubt. ... Already has established a riveting rivalry with another young player and major champion, Jannik Sinner. ... After losing to Novak Djokovic in last year's semifinals in Paris, beat him in the final at Wimbledon.
He Said It: “Every time that I’m hitting the forehand, I’m thinking about the forearm.”
Read All About It: Alcaraz is exactly who everyone thought he was
Daniil Medvedev
Seeding: 5
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Russia
Age: 28
2024 Record: 24-7
2024 Titles: Zero
Career Titles: 20
Grand Slam Titles: 1 — U.S. Open (2021)
Last 5 French Opens: 2023-1st, 2022-4th, 2021-QF, 2020-1st, 2019-1st
The Bracket: Could face Rafael Nadal, No. 4 Alexander Zverev or No. 13 Holger Rune in the quarterfinals.
Aces: Is 1-5 in Grand Slam finals, all on hard courts, including a loss against Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open in January. Each of Medvedev's other title matches came against Novak Djokovic or Nadal. ... Medvedev's first-round exit in Paris a year ago — which came after he won the clay-court Italian Open — marked the first time the French Open's No. 2-seeded man lost that early since Pete Sampras in 2000. ... Dealt with a hip issue that caused him to stop playing in Madrid.
He Said It: “When I ran, I wanted to run faster and faster during the movement and suddenly felt my hip kind of blocked.”
Read All About It: Medvedev's Grand Slam trophy came at Djokovic's expense
Casper Ruud
Seeding: 7
Career-Best Ranking: 2
Country: Norway
Age: 25
2024 Record: 31-9 (Entering Geneva)
2024 Titles: 1
Career Titles: 11
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Runner-Up, French Open (2022, 2023), U.S. Open (2022)
Last 5 French Opens: 2023-Runner-Up, 2022-RU, 2021-3rd, 2020-3rd, 2019-3rd
The Bracket: Could face No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, in what would be a rematch of last year's final, won by Djokovic.
Aces: Has won 12 of his past 14 matches at the French Open, with losses against Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the past two finals. ... Trained at Nadal's tennis academy in Spain. ... Had been 0-7 for his career in tournament finals above the ATP 250 level — including 0-3 at majors — until winning the Barcelona Open on clay in April.
He Said It: “I have achieved — sometimes when I think about it — more things than I thought was possible in my career. But by doing that, you also want to chase and push for even more.”
Read All About It: Ruud has come close to winning Grand Slam titles
Rafael Nadal
Seeding: Unseeded (Ranked No. 276)
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Spain
Age: 37 (Turns 38 on June 3)
2024 Record: 7-4
2024 Titles: Zero
Career Titles: 92
Grand Slam Titles: 22 — French Open (14: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022), Australian Open (2: 2009, 2022), Wimbledon (2: 2008, 2010), U.S. Open (4: 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019)
Last 5 French Opens: 2023-DNP, 2022-W, 2021-SF, 2020-W, 2019-W
The Bracket: Will face No. 4 Alexander Zverev in the first round, a rematch of their 2022 semifinal that ended when Zverev got injured; Nadal is 112-1 in first-round matches on clay.
Aces: Returns to the French Open after missing his favorite tournament a year ago because of a hip injury that required surgery. ... He has only played 15 matches over the past two seasons because of hip and abdominal muscle problems. ... No other man or woman has won a Slam tournament as many times as Nadal's 14 trophies at Roland Garros. ... Has never lost two matches in a row on clay, anywhere.
He Said It: “I need to prove (to) myself if I am able to push my body to the limit that I need to push to feel myself ready for what’s coming.”
Read All About It: What does the future hold for Nadal?
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press